Hearing impairment can mean many things ranging from complete deafness to inability to hear certain high frequency sounds. Here are ideas to ease communication.
Not All Hearing Loss Is the Same
Hearing loss can mean a range of difficulty. Some children have a high frequency loss which means that certain sounds are difficult to hear. These sounds include s, f, and th. Often these children have difficulty hearing the endings of words as well.
Some children can hear environmental noises because of the pitch and intensity of the sounds. For example, they may be able to hear the roar of an airplane, a lawn mower, or a motorcycle. They may not, however, be able to hear the sounds needed to understand what someone is saying to them.
Children with a cochlear implant will not be able to hear at all when they are not wearing the processor portion of the equipment. When everything is worn, however, they seem to almost have bionic ears and can easily hear what someone is saying.
These are a few distinct examples of hearing loss, but it is important to remember that there are degrees of loss that fall everywhere in between.
Look at Me When You Are Talking!
A general rule of thumb for talking to someone with a hearing impairment is to look at the person. Sounds that are missed by the ear can sometimes be understood through speechreading. Additional information is available from the speaker’s facial expressions.
It is important for the speaker to understand that a long moustache, a hand in front of the mouth, or exaggerated speech and mouth movements actually make understanding speech more difficult.
Background Noise is Tough
Regardless of the child’s ability to follow speech normally, background noise can make it difficult or impossible to understand what the speaker is saying. The amount of background noise that would simply be annoying or distracting to most children can create an impossible situation for the child with a hearing loss. This is often seen in the typical classroom where children are moving chairs, shuffling papers, and talking quietly.
A Hearing Aid Doesn’t Fix It
Many people think that putting on a hearing aid or auditory trainer takes care of the problem – somewhat like seeing clearly when someone puts on a pair of glasses. Unfortunately it does not work that way with hearing impairment. Any time that the child is not wearing a hearing aid (and time prior to the child’s loss being identified) the child looses language development opportunities. Vocabulary and sentence structure is often impacted.
Parents of children with hearing loss are given the task of explaining the degree and impact of the impairment. With these four points relatives, caregivers, coaches, and others will be better able to understand the individual child and his communication needs.
